


Until the End (But Not Yet)

by mollyinthewater



Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fix-It, hi i love jackie and just want him to be happy, v and jackie are friends but it can be read as pre-relationship if you want
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 04:22:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28539525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mollyinthewater/pseuds/mollyinthewater
Summary: Sometimes things don't work out. But every once in a while, they actually do.***my take on jackie's final scene and giving it a happier ending because i love him. chapter one is female v and chapter two is male v.
Relationships: Female V & Jackie Welles, Female V/Jackie Welles, Male V & Jackie Welles, Male V/Jackie Welles
Comments: 6
Kudos: 45





	1. Female V Perspective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please know that this is spoiler heavy for cyberpunk 2077, so if you haven't played/watched to at least the end of act 1, you probably won't want to read this!!

"Hostile aircraft eliminated."

It was hard to hear Delamain's voice over the loud whirring of the car and the crash the aircraft made as it lost control and collided against the ground, but V still heard it. She leaned back inside the vehicle, the window closing as gasping breaths escaped her. Her heart was pumping loudly in her head and she was surprised that everything was still intact.

Well. Almost everything.

V looked to her left, seeing Jackie, her partner, her _friend_ , hunched over, his hand tightly gripping his shirt. His face was locked in a wince as he stared down at the ground and V could see the droplets of blood covering his palm. He was breathing heavily, too, but V knew that it was out of pain of the injury he had sustained minutes before.

Fuck Arasaka. Fuck Yorinobu, that crazy ass kid, killing his rich and powerful fucking dad. If it weren't for them being there, if it weren't for Yorinobu losing his shit, Jackie wouldn't be hurt. He and V would be fine, sitting in the car, ready for the riches that lay ahead of them.

Instead, V was the only one that was okay, and Jackie was sitting next to her, on the verge of fucking death.

"We did it, Jackie. We fucking did it!" V exclaimed, her voice tinted with aggression as she spoke. She couldn't be losing it now, couldn't be losing _him_ now. They made it out of Konpeki Plaza, they were together, everything was going to be fucking fine.

"Heh..." Jackie let out a laugh that sounded more like a huff, his voice rough and weak. "I guess we did."

"My medical diagnostics indicate that Mr. Welles' condition is critical," Delamain stated, causing V to look over at the creepy A.I. on the screen. A cold feeling washed over her at his words as her breathing became more shallow.

"Critical?" V echoed, turning back towards Jackie and gingerly putting a hand on his shoulder. No, no, no, this wasn't happening, Delamain wasn't saying what V thought he was saying. "Fuck does that mean?" She reached to put her other hand on Jackie's right one, but immediately pulled away after making contact, her hand now covered in blood.

Shit. There was blood all over his fucking hand at this point, the red liquid pouring out of his torso. Jackie leaned back, his wince turning more into an expression of pure pain. V looked down at his bloodied hand, eyes wide, and reached for it again, this time holding on to it like her life depended on it.

"Mr. Welles' external iliac artery has ruptured, internal hemorrhaging is severe," Delamain explained. Ruptured, hemorrhaging... V knew that that wasn't fucking good. "I suggest you try to keep Mr. Welles conscious."

For a split second, Jackie's eyes met V's, and it was only thanks to the brightness of the up and awake city that she was able to see the green of his irises, the color somehow looking paler than usual, just like Jackie's skin. 

"I..." V started to speak as Jackie looked away, his mouth taught in a frown as he stared off ahead towards the street. This was so fucking bad. What the fuck could she do? This A.I. asshole wasn't going to take them to the hospital, not until they arrived at Dex's, who V knew was not going to be too fucking happy about the situation of the job.

All V could do now was try her best.

"It's gonna be alright," V told Jackie, her eyes flickering back and forth between his face and his wound, both illuminated a bright red due to the lights outside. "You'll see Misty, your mom... everyone you love." She remembered how only hours earlier, Jackie had been on the phone with his mother, mentioning how she was worried about him, making sure he wasn't "rotting in some dumpster like most of the Welles boys." V wasn't about to let Jackie's mother lose another son.

Jackie closed his eyes, his body teetering, and V swore that her pulse was about to fucking implode or some shit as panic began to course through her veins. 

"Jackie! Don't close your eyes," V instructed, her voice frantic. Jackie let out a sigh, his breathing sounding much too pained, before listening to V, opening his eyes once again and looking back at her.

"Misty... she knew... she always knew," Jackie quietly said, his voice lower than usual. Misty _knew?_ Knew what, that all this fucked up shit V and Jackie did was dangerous? That there was always a chance of Jackie getting offed or some shit?

That was _fucking_ life. Every _fucking_ day in Night City was a risk. But everything had been going so well, too fucking well. It couldn't end here. Not yet.

"The—" Jackie rasped, getting cut off by a weak cough as he suddenly reached over to V, placing his blood-soaked hand on her left shoulder. He leaned closer to her, and it was then when she could see the trails of blood leaving his mouth and nose, some of them already dried and the rest fresh. "The biochip."

Jesus, V had forgotten about all of that, and honestly? It didn't even fucking matter anymore. Not right now. Not with Jackie like... _this._

Jackie reached to the back of his head, taking the relic out of his neural port and giving it a quick look before putting his attention back on V. "Hold on to it. For me."

"Jackie..." V breathed out as Jackie moved his hand to the back of her head and slotted the chip into her port. She wanted to tell him how it didn't matter, how the only thing that was important was him and him staying fucking _alive,_ but she couldn't get the words out as her throat began to close and her eyes started to sting. Her vision glitched for a moment, but she knew that that wasn't where the burn in her eyes was coming from as a familiar wet feeling covered her cheeks. 

V looked down, Jackie placing his hand on hers. She looked back up at him and saw his eyes close, his breathing go shallow and barely there.

 _Not_ there.

They weren't there.

"Jackie," V said again, this time her voice breaking as she said her friend's name. No response came from the man, his body perfectly still. This couldn't be happening, there was no way this was fucking happening. First T-Bug and now...

"Fuck!" V gasped out, closing the space between her and Jackie, leaning her forehead against his shoulder. Her tears dripped onto his suit, her hand on his shoulder moving up and onto the back of his neck. This close to him, V could smell the sweat on his body, the copper of the blood covering his skin, the saltiness of his rain-soaked clothes. "You can't do this to me, Jackie, don't you dare fucking do this."

It went quiet after that, the only noises filling the air being V's soft cries and the pitter-patter of rain outside. Everything went dark as it felt like time itself froze, V not aware of anything else except for Jackie's fucking body. She couldn't even hear the pathetic noises she was making, ringing filling her ears.

"—ake your visit as quick as possible so that you can take Mr. Welles to the nearest ripperdoc."

"... what?" V whispered out, Delamain's words muffled as she forced herself to sit up and look over at the A.I.'s screen. She hadn't realized that the car had stopped moving. They'd arrived at Dex's, the Relic with them in one piece. Mission successful.

What a sick fucking joke.

"Mr. Welles condition is currently stable, but it won't be for too long. I suggest you make your visit with Mr. DeShawn as quick as possible so that you can transport Mr. Welles to the nearest ripperdoc."

V stared at Delamain, a fire being lit inside of her at his words. _"Transport?_ Are you fucking—he's goddamn—he—"

She stopped, suddenly realizing what the first words were that Delamain had said. It felt like everything froze once more before she spoke again.

"... stable?"

V felt an abrupt movement against her hands and gasped, snapping her head over to Jackie's body.

Jackie's _moving_ body.

He coughed violently, his hand leaving V's as he slowly calmed down, resting it back against his wound. "Mierda..."

V stayed silent, watching the man as he opened his eyes and looked over at her, V seeing a green that she thought she would never see again. He took in her tear-stained face, her eyes now red, and a slight smirk replaced his wince.

"Crying over me, holmes? You flatter me," Jackie told her, his voice still not too strong, but loud enough that V could hear it over the rain outside. She was mute, ready to punch the shit out of him but going against that urge in favor of his condition, instead slamming her elbow against the car door behind her and wiping Jackie's smirk off of his face.

"Fuck you, Jackie," V choked out, wiping the tear-tracks off of her cheeks and smearing some blood on her skin. "Fucking making me think that you... that you were gonna make me face Dex's angry ass by myself." She couldn't make herself say it out loud, but by the soft look now on Jackie's face, V knew that he understood. She really had thought that he was gone. She hadn't realized how much she wasn't ready for that until it almost just happened.

"We're in this together," Jackie told her, "so if he's gonna give you shit, guess I'll have a turn at it, too." V laughed at that, realizing that her hand was still resting on the back of Jackie's neck. She looked at him for a second before hugging him as gently as she could, being sure to not touch his injury as she wrapped her arm around his waist. Her friend paused at the gesture, a sort of affection that V never showed, before placing his free hand on her back.

"You ain't allowed to die on me, Jack, you hear me?" V quietly said into Jackie's ear, closing her eyes before anymore tears could escape. Jackie chuckled at that, the noise sounding pained and endearing all at once. 

"Don't worry, V. Nada puede matarme."

For once, V believed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, i knew jackie for three hours and he was my favorite, so his death scene made me cry dskjfshk. i haven't even watched the playthrough yet, i'm only about halfway through, but i had to quickly write this just because i really loved jackie and thought he was gonna be in the whole game, so his death really surprised me.
> 
> anyway, thanks for reading! edit: if you liked this and wanna see future cyberpunk 2077 content from me, check out my cyberpunk 2077 [side blog](https://burning-samurai.tumblr.com) <3


	2. Male V Perspective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i didn't really know whether to do a gender-neutral v or both male and female, so i just went with the two chapters so that it could be a little more immersive for some of you and since it was more canonical to do so. 
> 
> also, the original title of my draft for this story was "fuck jackie's death scene, all my homies hate jackie's death scene."

"Hostile aircraft eliminated."

It was hard to hear Delamain's voice over the loud whirring of the car and the crash the aircraft made as it lost control and collided against the ground, but V still heard it. He leaned back inside the vehicle, the window closing as gasping breaths escaped him. His heart was pumping loudly in his head and he was surprised that everything was still intact.

Well. Almost everything.

V looked to his left, seeing Jackie, his partner, his _friend,_ hunched over, his hand tightly gripping his shirt. His face was locked in a wince as he stared down at the ground and V could see the droplets of blood covering his palm. He was breathing heavily, too, but V knew that it was out of pain of the injury he had sustained minutes before.

Fuck Arasaka. Fuck Yorinobu, that crazy ass kid, killing his rich and powerful fucking dad. If it weren't for them being there, if it weren't for Yorinobu losing his shit, Jackie wouldn't be hurt. He and V would be fine, sitting in the car, ready for the riches that lay ahead of them.

Instead, V was the only one that was okay, and Jackie was sitting next to him, on the verge of fucking death.

"We did it, Jackie. We fucking did it!" V exclaimed, his voice tinted with aggression as he spoke. He couldn't be losing it now, couldn't be losing _him_ now. They made it out of Konpeki Plaza, they were together, everything was going to be fucking fine.

"Heh..." Jackie let out a laugh that sounded more like a huff, his voice rough and weak. "I guess we did."

"My medical diagnostics indicate that Mr. Welles' condition is critical," Delamain stated, causing V to look over at the creepy A.I. on the screen. A cold feeling washed over him at his words as his breathing became more shallow.

"Critical?" V echoed, turning back towards Jackie and gingerly putting a hand on his shoulder. No, no, no, this wasn't happening, Delamain wasn't saying what V thought he was saying. "Fuck does that mean?" He reached to put his other hand on Jackie's right one, but immediately pulled away after making contact, his hand now covered in blood.

Shit. There was blood all over Jackie’s fucking hand at this point, the red liquid pouring out of his torso. He leaned back, his wince turning more into an expression of pure pain. V looked down at Jackie’s bloodied hand, eyes wide, and reached for it again, this time holding on to it like his life depended on it.

"Mr. Welles' external iliac artery has ruptured, internal hemorrhaging is severe," Delamain explained. Ruptured, hemorrhaging... V knew that that wasn't fucking good. "I suggest you try to keep Mr. Welles conscious."

For a split second, Jackie's eyes met V's, and it was only thanks to the brightness of the up and awake city that he was able to see the green of his irises, the color somehow looking paler than usual, just like Jackie's skin. 

"I..." V started to speak as Jackie looked away, his mouth taught in a frown as he stared off ahead towards the street. This was so fucking bad. What the fuck could he do? This A.I. asshole wasn't going to take them to the hospital, not until they arrived at Dex's, who V knew was not going to be too fucking happy about the situation of the job.

All V could do now was try his best.

"It's gonna be alright," V told Jackie, his eyes flickering back and forth between his face and his wound, both illuminated a bright red due to the lights outside. "You'll see Misty, your mom... everyone you love." He remembered how only hours earlier, Jackie had been on the phone with his mother, mentioning how she was worried about him, making sure he wasn't "rotting in some dumpster like most of the Welles boys." V wasn't about to let Jackie's mother lose another son.

Jackie closed his eyes, his body teetering, and V swore that his pulse was about to fucking implode or some shit as panic began to course through his veins. 

"Jackie! Don't close your eyes," V instructed, his voice frantic. Jackie let out a sigh, his breathing sounding much too pained, before listening to V, opening his eyes once again and looking back at him.

"Misty... she knew... she always knew," Jackie quietly said, his voice lower than usual. Misty _knew?_ Knew what, that all this fucked up shit V and Jackie did was dangerous? That there was always a chance of Jackie getting offed or some shit?

That was _fucking_ life. Every _fucking_ day in Night City was a risk. But everything had been going so well, too fucking well. It couldn't end here. Not yet.

"The—" Jackie rasped, getting cut off by a weak cough as he suddenly reached over to V, placing his blood-soaked hand on his left shoulder. He leaned closer to him, and it was then when V could see the trails of blood leaving his mouth and nose, some of them already dried and the rest fresh. "The biochip."

Jesus, V had forgotten about all of that, and honestly? It didn't even fucking matter anymore. Not right now. Not with Jackie like... _this._

Jackie reached to the back of his head, taking the relic out of his neural port and giving it a quick look before putting his attention back on V. "Hold on to it. For me."

"Jackie..." V breathed out as Jackie moved his hand to the back of V’s head and slotted the chip into his port. He wanted to tell Jackie how it didn't matter, how the only thing that was important was him and him staying fucking _alive,_ but he couldn't get the words out as his throat began to close and his eyes started to sting. His vision glitched for a moment, but he knew that that wasn't where the burn in his eyes was coming from as a familiar wet feeling covered his cheeks.

V looked down, Jackie placing his hand on his. V looked back up at him and saw his eyes close, his breathing go shallow and barely there.

 _Not_ there.

They weren't there.

"Jackie," V said again, this time his voice breaking as he said his friend's name. No response came from the man, his body perfectly still. This couldn't be happening, there was no way this was fucking happening. First T-Bug and now...

"Fuck!" V gasped out, closing the space between him and Jackie, leaning his forehead against his shoulder. His tears dripped onto Jackie’s suit, his hand on his shoulder moving up and onto the back of the other man’s neck. This close to him, V could smell the sweat on Jackie’s body, the copper of the blood covering his skin, the saltiness of his rain-soaked clothes. "You can't do this to me, Jackie, don't you dare fucking do this."

It went quiet after that, the only noises filling the air being V's soft cries and the pitter-patter of rain outside. Everything went dark as it felt like time itself froze, V not aware of anything else except for Jackie's fucking body. He couldn't even hear the pathetic noises he was making, ringing filling his ears.

"—ake your visit as quick as possible so that you can take Mr. Welles to the nearest ripperdoc."

"... what?" V whispered out, Delamain's words muffled as he forced himself to sit up and look over at the A.I.'s screen. He hadn't realized that the car had stopped moving. They'd arrived at Dex's, the Relic with them in one piece. Mission successful.

What a sick fucking joke.

"Mr. Welles condition is currently stable, but it won't be for too long. I suggest you make your visit with Mr. DeShawn as quick as possible so that you can transport Mr. Welles to the nearest ripperdoc."

V stared at Delamain, a fire being lit inside of him at his words. _"Transport?_ Are you fucking—he's goddamn—he—"

He stopped, suddenly realizing what the first words were that Delamain had said. It felt like everything froze once more before he spoke again.

"... stable?"

V felt an abrupt movement against his hands and gasped, snapping his head over to Jackie's body.

Jackie's _moving_ body.

He coughed violently, his hand leaving V's as he slowly calmed down, resting it back against his wound. "Mierda..."

V stayed silent, watching the man as he opened his eyes and looked over at him, V seeing a green that he thought he would never see again. Jackie took in his tear-stained face, his eyes now red, and a slight smirk replaced his wince.

"Crying over me, holmes? You flatter me," Jackie told him, his voice still not too strong, but loud enough that V could hear it over the rain outside. He was mute, ready to punch the shit out of him but going against that urge in favor of his condition, instead slamming his elbow against the car door behind him and wiping Jackie's smirk off of his face.

"Fuck you, Jackie," V choked out, wiping the tear-tracks off of his cheeks and smearing some blood on his skin. "Fucking making me think that you... that you were gonna make me face Dex's angry ass by myself." He couldn't make himself say it out loud, but by the soft look now on Jackie's face, V knew that he understood. He really had thought that he was gone. He hadn't realized how much he wasn't ready for that until it almost just happened.

"We're in this together," Jackie told him, "so if he's gonna give you shit, guess I'll have a turn at it, too." V laughed at that, realizing that his hand was still resting on the back of Jackie's neck. He looked at him for a second before hugging him as gently as he could, being sure to not touch Jackie’s injury as he wrapped his arm around his waist. His friend paused at the gesture, a sort of affection that V never showed, before placing his free hand on V’s back.

"You ain't allowed to die on me, Jack, you hear me?" V quietly said into Jackie's ear, closing his eyes before anymore tears could escape. Jackie chuckled at that, the noise sounding pained and endearing all at once. 

"Don’t worry, V. Nada puede matarme."

For once, V believed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this game is really interesting to me and i'm excited to be writing for it, so look out for more jackie stories!! and definitely some takemura and johnny ones, i love all these boys <3


End file.
